Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning application documents: what to read first
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.
Scotland · Local authority
Orkney Islands
Planning applications.
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Orkney Islands. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
Collected application statistics
Collected records · All available dates11,981Searchable applications
138Recorded as pending
96%Approval rate · 10,075 approved or refused records
434Refused applications
9,641 approved · 434 refused · 561 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 24 Sept 1979 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 17 Oct 2026. Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.
Local planning information
Council sources checked 14 Sept 2026Planning information Planning and BuildingLocal plan Development and Marine Planning (policy)Pre-application advice Pre-application AdviceConservation areas Conservation Area Consent
Council contacts
- Planning enquiries01856873535Council source
- Planning enquiriesplanning@orkney.gov.ukCouncil source
Contact details were found on council pages. Check the source for opening hours and which enquiries the service handles.
Conservation areas and Article 4 directions
Explore published planning boundaries and follow their source records for designation details. Coverage varies: an empty map does not mean there are no restrictions. Check the council’s current maps and documents before relying on a boundary.
Conservation areas6 mapped area records
Article 4 direction areasBoundary dataset not connected
Interactive planning map loads with JavaScript. Dataset sources are linked below.
Download Article 4 coverage for all authorities (CSV)
Data downloaded 14 Sept 2026. Display boundaries are simplified and indicative. Map record counts are not a complete count of designations or directions.
Source: Historic Environment Scotland. Contains Historic Environment Scotland and Ordnance Survey data © Historic Environment Scotland – Scottish Charity No. SC045925 © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0. Data is indicative and may not contain the latest designations.
More application records
- Decided99/253/PPF
Landfill site for inert waste
Backaskaill Farm Sanday
Received 18 Jun 1999 - Decided99/232/PPF
Erection of a dormer and house extension
Hillbanks Burray
Received 11 Jun 1999 - Decided99/225/PPF
Erection of a one for one replacement house
Nether Bossack Tankerness
Received 2 Jun 1999 - Decided99/150/PPF
Alterations to a bothy
The Bothy Ayre Houses Ayre Road Kirkwall
Received 19 Apr 1999 - Decided99/223/PPF
Erection of an extension
Middleton Holm
Received 28 May 1999 - Decided99/129/PPF
Convert ruin into self-catering units and hostel
Bisgoes Westray
Received 1 Apr 1999 - Decided99/080/PPF
Erection of a house
Lynn Park site 17 Kirkwall
Received 4 Feb 1999 - Decided99/070/PPF
Re-location of an access
Blinkbonny St Ola
Received 26 Feb 1999 - Decided98/416/PPF
Extension to existing office and showroom
Great Western Road Kirkwall KW15 1QS
Received 21 Oct 1998 - Decided98/466/PPF
Change of use from shop to residential flat
52 Dundas Street Stromness
Received 16 Dec 1998 - Decided98/211/PPF
Extension to a house
Loch House Holm
Received 20 May 1998 - Decided98/196/PPF
Extension to a house
Gerraquoy Grimness South Ronaldsay
Received 13 May 1998 - Decided98/180/PPF
Creation of a core and cluster housing development
Sunnybank Stromness
Received 1 May 1998 - Decided98/129/AGR
Erection of a fodder and implement shed
4 Wyng Longhope Hoy
Received 1 Apr 1998 - Decided98/118/PPF
Alterations and extension to existing house
1 Dundas Crescent Kirkwall
Received 27 Mar 1998 - Decided96/014/PPF
Extension to a dwelling unit
Bachylis Orphir ORKNEY
Received 17 Jan 1996 - Decided95/499/PPF
Extension and alteration to a house
Lochside Burray ORKNEY
Received 20 Dec 1995 - Decided95/218/AGR
Erection of an open silo
Pole Burray
Received 19 May 1995 - Decided95/197/PPF
Proposed erection of a house
Upper Breckquoy(near) Holm
Received 3 May 1995 - Decided95/269/PPF
Erection of a patio and slipway
Old Post Office Front Road St Margaret's Hope
Received 19 Jun 1995 - Decided98/070/PPF
Change of use to residential garden. Erect workshop
Runa Twatt
Received 25 Feb 1998 - Decided98/016/PPF
Change of use from and alterations to dwelling house to form
Lindisfarne Stromness
Received 26 Jan 1998 - Decided97/386/PPF
Erection of a house
Skibbowick Hill (near) Tankerness St Andrews ORKNEY
Received 3 Oct 1997 - Decided97/267/PPF
Extension to car park
St Michael's Church Harray
Received 14 Jul 1997
Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsResearching a proposal in Orkney Islands
Start with the address or application reference. Open a record to read the proposal, dates and available documents, then check the official register for the latest plans and consultation details. If nothing appears, check coverage before treating the result as a complete planning history.
Planning procedures in Scotland differ from those in England. Use the authority’s own guidance for application requirements, comments and decision timescales.
How to search planning applicationsGuides to planning records
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What these statistics cover
These figures describe applications collected by PlanningTrack for Orkney Islands, across all dates currently available. They are a partial dataset, rather than an authority-wide performance measure. The date range does not establish continuous historical coverage.
The approval percentage is approved records divided by approved plus refused records. Pending, withdrawn and unknown outcomes are excluded. No percentage is shown until there is an approved or refused record.
Check collection coverage